The Illinois Works Pre-apprenticeship Program provides grants to community-based organizations (including an accredited public college or university) or coalitions throughout the State that will recruit, prescreen, provide pre-apprenticeship skills training, and transition participants to U.S. Department of Labor (US DOL) Registered Apprenticeship Programs. Successful grantees are expected to provide pathways and manage the transition from the pre-apprenticeship program to a full apprenticeship program in construction and the building trades.

This NOFO will use the definitions established in the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act, including the definitions for "community-based organizations" and "underrepresented populations." It will also use the State of Illinois definition for a pre-apprenticeship program which appears in the Illinois Career Pathways Dictionary​. Besides the following definitions and frameworks, additional information and resources are included in the Appendix of this NOFO. 

Community-based organization: The Illinois Works Act establishes that "community-based organization" means a nonprofit organization, including an accredited public college or university, selected by the Department to participate in the Illinois Works Pre-apprenticeship Program. To qualify as a "communitybased organization", the organization must demonstrate the following:

• the ability to effectively serve diverse and underrepresented populations, including by providing employment services to such populations; 
• knowledge of the construction and building trades; 

• ​the ability to recruit, prescreen, and provide pre-apprenticeship training to prepare workers for employment in construction and the building trades; and a plan to provide the following: preparatory classes;
• workplace readiness skills, such as resume preparation and interviewing techniques;
• strategies for overcoming barriers to entry and completion of an apprenticeship program; and
• any prerequisites for acceptance into an apprenticeship program.
  

This grant program is utilizing state funding appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly under Public Act 103-1006. Total amount of funding expected to be awarded through this NOFO is up to $18,000,000. Awards will range from $150,000 to $550,000. The Department expects to make up to 35 awards through this NOFO. 

Anticipated start date for awards is January 1, 2025. 

The period of performance is expected to be January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025. 

The Department will offer an award that provides average funding of $11,000 per participant.

​Application 

Applicants must submit a project narrative that describes in detail how the award will be executed. The project narrative should include enough information for DCEO to understand the scope of the project, the budget, including a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with each budget line and any additional necessary detail to enable DCEO to manage the grant agreement activity against planned project performance. The Project Narrative must include evidence of capacity, quality and need as defined in Section E.1.

Due date for application materials is ​Friday, August 30, 2024 by 5:00 pm CST.

For detailed information about the funding opportunity and instruction on how to apply, see the full NOFO, as well as required documents, linked under NOFO Materials. 

Notice of Intent to Apply

The Department requests that applicants submit a Notice of Intent to Apply by Friday, August 9th at 5pm (CST). The Notice of Intent to Apply should be a one page document that includes the name of the lead applicant and the regions served. Submitting the Notice of Intent to Apply is optional and will assist the Department in planning the merit review of applications.

These letters will help the Department determine merit reviewer needs.​

​​

• ​​Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship NOFO
• Uniform Application
  
• Budget Template
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure
  
• Mandatory Disclosure
  
• Attachment I - Proposed Work Plan
  
• Attachment II - Participant Demographics and Outcome Summary
  
• Attachment III - Sample Curriculum and Proposed Curriculum
  
• Attachment IV - Staffing Plan
  

NOFO References

• 360-Degree Focus on Equity
  
• Executive Order #3: Action Agenda for Workforce Development and Job Creation
• Illinois Career Pathways Dictionary
• Illinois Department of Labor, 2021 State Construction Minority and Female Building Trades Annual Report
• Illinois Essential Employability Skills Framework
• Illinois Works Pre-apprenticeship Program 2022 Grantee Manual
• Illinois Workforce Innovation Board, Apprenticeship Illinois Committee Quarterly Report June 2021
• The Essentials of a High-Quality Pre-apprenticeship Program, Jobs for the Future, 2019
• United States Department of Labor, Training and Employment Notice 13-12 
• United States Department of Labor, Discover Apprenticeship: Earn While You Earn Today
• U.S. Dept of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS)
  

Resources for Competitive Applications

• Apprenticeship Illinois
• Grant Accountability and Transparency Act
  
• Illinois Career Pathways Dictionary
  
• Illinois Works Pre-apprenticeship Program 2022 Grantee Manual
  
• Regional and Local Workforce Plans
• State of Illinois WIOA ePolicy Portal
• State of Illinois WIOA Unified State Plan
  
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Talent Pipeline Management Initiative
  
• U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Employment and Training, Office of Apprenticeship
  
• WIOA Regional/Local Plans by Economic Development Region
  
• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014
  

Resources on National Best Practices for Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Programs

• 2020 Construction ApprenticeshipGuidebook (Seattle)
• Broadening the ApprenticeshipPipeline (National Skills Coalition)
• Construction Pre-ApprenticeshipPrograms (Aspen Institute)
  
• Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs: Results from a National Survey (Aspen Institute)
  
• Illinois Tollway ConstructionWorksBrochure
  
• Illinois Tollway ConstructionWorksOnline Application Portal
• Illinois Tollway ConstructionWorksWebsite
• Key Capacities of ConstructionPre-Apprenticeship Programs (Aspen Institute)
• Pre-Apprenticeships: Building StrongApprentices (Workforce GPS)
• Seattle PACT Pre-ApprenticeshipConstruction Training
• YOUTHBUILD Construction Plus Framework
  

Resources on National Best Practices for Equity Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Programs